When something is quintessentially American, we say that it is “as American as mom, baseball, and apple pie.” Yet, there are those in America who have been attacking the role of “mom” for decades. My mentor Phyllis Schlafly was among the first and most effective voices to call out this dangerous political faction who wants to remove motherhood from the American experience. Though Phyllis has gone on to her heavenly reward, her clear and concise reasoning still rings true today. As we turn our attention to Mothers Day this weekend, let’s take a moment to trace the history of the American war on motherhood.
Betty Friedan is largely credited with launching the modern feminist movement with her book The Feminine Mystique, which called the home “a comfortable concentration camp” for women who take on the role of wives and mothers. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, feminists screeched about wanting “liberation” from the home. Still today, schools praise our daughters when they talk about being surgeons and astronauts, but tell girls that want to be homemakers that they should aim for “more.”
The feminist movement went into the 1980s and 1990s spreading the false notion that women provide no unique value to this world. They claimed men and women are completely interchangeable in every way except for biology. With a message like that being taught, why should we be surprised when our culture has decided that motherhood is optional and gay couples should be allowed to adopt and raise children who will never experience a mother’s love? Can two men really provide everything for a child that a mother and father can? I think not.
Fast forward to today, when transgender hysteria has led to an attack on the very word “mother.” Now, mothers are no longer allowed to be called mothers, but “birthing people.” This decline has got to stop. The irreplaceable contributions of mothers are what make our nation so great. Strong moms create strong families, and strong families create strong communities. Happy Mothers Days to all of the moms out there. You are loved, you are valued, and you could never be replaced.
